Today Is Not Over Yet

Illicit drugs in ED visits

For 2006, Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) estimates that 958,164 hospital emergency departments (ED) visits involved an illicit drug. Thus, over half (55%) of all the drug misuse/abuse ED visits during the year involved an illicit drug either alone or in combination with other types of drugs. DAWN estimates that: * Cocaine was involved in 548,608 ED visits, * Marijuana was involved in 290,563 ED visits, * Heroin was involved in 189,780 ED visits, * Stimulants, including amphetamines and methamphetamine, were involved in 107,575 ED visits, and * Other illicit drugs, such as PCP, Ecstasy, and GHB, were much less frequent than any of the above. Taking the margin of error into account, cocaine was more frequent than any of the other illicit drugs. The stimulants (amphetamines and methamphetamine) were less frequent than marijuana and as frequent as heroin. drug treatment centers After taking population size and the margin of error into account: * The rates of ED visits involving cocaine, marijuana, and heroin were higher for males than females, but the rates for stimulants did not differ by gender, * For cocaine, the rates for patients aged 18 to 54 were similar with lower rates for younger and older patients, * For heroin, the rates were highest for patients aged 21 to 54, * For marijuana, the rates were highest for patients aged 18 to 24, and * For stimulants, the rates were highest for patients aged 18 to 44. Many people find drug treatments or enroll in drug rehab shortly after a visit to a hospital.